Independence Day, Democracy and the Two-Thirds Vote
On Independence Day, George Skeleton’s Los Angeles Times column argued for lowering the vote for local government infrastructure bonds from two-thirds to 55%. He linked such a move to American democracy and majority rule while declaring it a major change to Proposition 13. I disagree on all points. The two-thirds vote for local general obligation […]
The Real Change the Prop 8 Cases Could Inspire
The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Prop 8 has inspired bipartisan calls for a push to give initiative proponents a way to defend their initiatives when elected officials refuse to. As I’ve explained in this space recently, this push is pointless at best (proponents already have standing where it matters) and problematic at worst (in […]
California Prison System Has no Place in Civilized Society
Today my loved one will start starving himself not because he wants to, but because he feels he has to, to stand in unity against injustice. He will refuse bland, colorless, tepid taxpayer-funded food that often includes stale bread, wilted lettuce and overcooked meat filler, served through a tiny slot in a perforated door on […]
A River Runs Through It: On Helping Those Closest to Us in Job Search
Near the end of A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean’s novella of a family in Montana in the early part of the twentieth century, the author’s father, reflects on his adult son Paul, who has failed to live up to his promise. “It is those we live with and love and we should know […]